The Southern Fire Empire, the Canglan River.
The Canglan River was the largest river in the Southern Fire Empire. It was also one of the top three rivers in the entire Five Elements Continent. It could be said that it was the true mother river of the Southern Fire Empire. From west to east, it almost ran through the entire territory of the Southern Fire Empire. The clear river water surged and nurtured generations after generations of Southern Fire people.
The Southern Fire Empire attached great importance to the Canglan River. Many military camps were stationed near the Canglan River in order to protect this mother river. Anyone who dared to pollute the river would be severely punished.
This was the middle reaches of the Canglan River, which was also the south-central region of the Southern Fire Empire. On a large rock by the river sat a man. Beside him was a pile of liquor bottles. In his hand, he was still drinking the strongest vodka.
This man's clothes were ragged. From his back, he looked extremely dispirited. Although he was tall, he gave people a feeling that he had one foot in the grave as he sat there.
His unkempt hair was white, a lusterless white, giving off a feeling of deathly stillness. Only an old man who was nearing the end of his life should have such hair. However, how many old men would drink like him?!
If anyone could see his face, they would be greatly shocked. The messy white hair covered the face of an extremely young man. Although his face was unshaven, he didn't look more than thirty years old. However, he had a pair of unimaginable eyes.
What kind of eyes were those! His eyes were empty without any signs of life. This kind of eyes that only a dead person could have appeared on this young man with white hair. It could be said to be a spectacular sight. Anyone who came within ten meters of him would immediately feel the deathly still aura on his body. It was an aura that was enough to make anyone feel extremely uncomfortable. Therefore, although many passersby would look at this person, no one would approach him.
The fiery vodka flowed down his throat, and the burning sensation spread to every corner of his body. Bang! He threw the empty bottle aside and opened another bottle of vodka that he had prepared earlier. Only the numbing effect of the alcohol could temporarily make him forget the pain.
He was Ji Dong, and this white-haired man in ragged clothes was Ji Dong.
It had been half a year. A whole half a year had passed, and he had been living in a daze. That day, when he woke up again, his heart was empty. The death of the Flaming Bar was too much of a blow to him. It had taken away everything in his heart. What else could an empty heart have? If it wasn't for the Flaming Bar's last wish, he would have followed her without hesitation.
The pain continued to gnaw at his heart. When he took the first step, his black hair had already lost its luster. When he took the second step, his black hair had already turned grey. When he took the third step, it was as if all the life in his body had left him. All the life in his body had gone silent, and what followed was this head of lusterless white hair in front of him.
His hair had turned white in three steps, and he was a walking corpse. These words were perfect to describe Ji Dong's state in the past half a year. He didn't even know where he was, and he didn't think about anything. His Vermillion Bird bracelet was still with Ah Jin, and he didn't have a single coin on him. In that extreme pain, he thought of wine. So, in a forest that wasn't very dense, he tore apart a few magical beasts with his bare hands and used their crystal cores to exchange for some gold coins, which he used to buy wine.
In the past half a year, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything but wine. If it weren't for the fact that his body could absorb the fire element in the air to replenish itself, he would have been a cripple even if he didn't die.
In his past life, Ji Dong had placed great importance on his sense of taste. Not only was he a top-notch bartender, but he was also a top-notch wine master. The deterioration of his sense of taste would greatly affect his mixing and tasting of wine.
But now, the God of Wine had lost all self-discipline and worry. He could only rely on wine to numb himself, to lessen his pain. Without the Flaming Bar, there were no more thoughts in his mind. What Heavenly Stem Saint? What Holy King? What Saving the Radiant Continent? All of that was meaningless in his mind. Losing the Flaming Bar, to him, meant losing everything.
The last bottle of vodka was finally finished. Ji Dong climbed up from the boulder numbly. He had drunk too much, and even though his strong body would naturally dissolve the alcohol, his mind was still groggy. A cool breeze blew past, and Ji Dong's body swayed, almost falling down. But this feeling of dizziness was exactly what he wanted. He didn't know how much he had drunk these days, but he had forgotten that he had spent all the money he had earned from selling the cores.
Actually, with his strength, even if he didn't have the Elder of Law Enforcement's medallion, as long as he went to the Magician's Guild and showed off his strength, he would definitely be able to receive funding from the Magician's Guild. But Ji Dong didn't want to do that. He didn't want to see anyone. He only wanted to live a befuddled life, to think about his Flaming Bar in that dizzy and confused world. Only by falling asleep in that dizziness could he possibly see her in his dreams.
Just like that, he staggered towards the nearby city. He didn't even know the name of the city, he only knew that he could buy alcohol in the city.
In the distance, he could already see the city gate. Ji Dong staggered forward, there were a lot of people gathered around the city gate. There were at least a hundred soldiers gathered there. Ji Dong didn't know what was going on, but to Ji Dong, it didn't matter. He didn't care about it, he just wanted to buy some wine.
"Stop." Just as Ji Dong reached the city gate, two soldiers stepped forward and stopped him. Looking at Ji Dong's drunken appearance, the two soldiers revealed looks of disgust in their eyes. However, because of their duty, they had no choice but to stop this young man with a head full of white hair.
Ji Dong slightly raised his head, his hazy eyes revealed some confusion, he said, "What do you want?"
One of the soldiers said, "Report your name, age, and birthplace. The Empire is now conscripting soldiers, all males between the ages of 16 to 40 have the obligation to serve in the army."
"Get lost." Ji Dong said coldly.
The two soldiers were furious, they said, "You drunkard, how dare you disobey orders. Let's arrest you first to sober you up.
While saying that, the soldier on the left switched his spear to his left hand and raised his right hand to grab Ji Dong's shoulder. Ji Dong was tall, so the soldier had to get very close to him in order to grab his target.
Ji Dong's eyes were still empty, he allowed the soldier to grab his shoulder, but he didn't stop and continued to walk towards the city. The soldier who grabbed his shoulder was shocked to find that he couldn't stop this drunkard at all, even his own body was being dragged along.
The other soldier saw that the situation wasn't good, he shouted, "Stop right there, otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite." While saying that, the spear in his hand was already pointed at Ji Dong's chest. However, to his surprise, Ji Dong continued to move forward as if he didn't see the spear. Ji Dong's chest was pressed against the spear and pushed the soldier back.
In the beginning, the soldier was afraid of hurting him, so he retracted the spear in his hand slightly. However, Ji Dong continued to move forward without any scruples. The soldier only felt a strong force coming from the spear, and he was knocked back a few steps along with his spear. On the other hand, Ji Dong only had a hole left on his chest, and he continued to walk forward as if nothing had happened. The soldier who was grabbing onto his shoulder had no choice but to let go.
"Someone is causing trouble." The soldier with the spear shouted. Instantly, more than ten soldiers of the Southern Fire Empire quickly surrounded Ji Dong.
"Stop, you're attacking the army. If you don't surrender, we'll kill you without mercy." The captain of the squad, Hyōhime, shouted.
Surrender without a fight? Kill without mercy? These two words suddenly stimulated Ji Dong's heart. He clearly remembered that when Shupnus the Killing God came to the core of the world, he also said something similar to the Flaming Bar.
His hollow eyes gradually turned red, and a strong aura of danger instantly erupted from Ji Dong's body. The soldiers in front of him were only ordinary soldiers, how could they withstand the aura released from his body? Feeling the terrifying killing intent and tyrannical aura, the soldiers couldn't help but fall back. Everyone's eyes were filled with disbelief.
Who exactly was this drunkard?
Ji Dong clenched his fists tightly. He wasn't very clear-headed to begin with. He mumbled, "Bastard, bastard, you ruined my Flaming Bar, it's you!"
With a loud bang, intense and scorching flames instantly erupted from Ji Dong's body. Although he had only been drinking for the past six months and had never cultivated, his Chaos Bead had been protecting his body and regulating it. Even if he didn't eat or drink, the Chaos Bead alone could help him sustain his life by absorbing the magic elements from the outside world. The magic energy in his body was even slowly increasing. With the existence of the Chaos Bead, no matter how bad Ji Dong's mental state was, there was no danger of him going berserk.
A three-meter-tall golden flame suddenly rose. In an instant, the temperature in front of the city gate rose rapidly. Ji Dong, who was completely engulfed in golden flames, instantly became the focus of everyone's attention outside the city gate. He stood there like the God of Fire. The soldiers who had surrounded him earlier quickly moved away from him. They never thought that this drunkard would be a Devil Master.
The scorching yet familiar flames spread throughout his body. Ji Dong slowly raised his hands and looked at the golden flames on his hands. His hollow eyes became blurry again as he mumbled to himself, "Flaming Bar, Flaming Bar, why, why won't you let me go with you? Why leave me alone in this world? Do you know how much pain I'm in right now? How much pain."
At this moment, a cry of surprise was heard not far away, "Ji Dong? You … You're Ji Dong? "
A red silhouette approached quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was only ten meters away from Ji Dong. It was calling his name in an extremely agitated manner.
Ji Dong lifted his blurry eyes and looked at the person. The stimulation of the name made him slightly more clear-headed. The person seemed familiar, but his muddled brain could not recall it. The numbness from the alcohol and the pain in his mind caused his body to sway violently. The golden flames on his body quietly extinguished. With a thud, he fell to the ground and fell asleep just like that.
For the past six months, he had been repeating this process. He would drink when he woke up, and fall asleep when he drank too much. He did not care where he was at all. He was unwilling to accept reality, and even more so, he could not accept reality. Every time he was slightly clear-headed, he remembered that the Flaming Bar had already left. The unbearable pain made him feel like he was about to break down.
The Chaos Pearl's ability to adjust his body was too strong. When Ji Dong woke up from his sleep, he did not feel the pain of a hangover. When he opened his eyes, his gaze was still hollow. He realized that he was lying in a room with a blanket over him. It seemed like he had even changed his clothes.
He suddenly sat up on the bed and mumbled, "Alcohol, alcohol …" Only alcohol could numb him. Drinking was the only thing he wanted to do.
"Ah, you're awake. Ji Dong, you … What's going on with you?" A familiar voice came from beside him. An elderly man in red had already walked up to him. However, what he saw was Ji Dong's eyes, which were filled with death and emptiness.
Ji Dong did not look at him at all. He was still mumbling, "Alcohol, alcohol, give me alcohol …"
"Ji Dong, what's going on with you? I'm Yang Bingtian! Don't you remember me? " This elderly man in red was Yang Bingtian, the former Dean of the Fire Academy. He was Zhu Rong's disciple in name. In terms of seniority, he was Ji Dong's senior brother.
"Yang Bingtian?" Ji Dong mumbled this name. Just when Yang Bingtian thought he had remembered, he had already called out for alcohol again.
As he spoke, Ji Dong got off the bed and walked out without a care for anything else. He was still mumbling the word "wine".
Yang Bingtian flashed across the air and blocked his way. He gripped Ji Dong's shoulder with both of his hands and said, "Ji Dong, what on earth happened? Why are you here? And why are you like this? "Looking at Ji Dong, Yang Bingtian was anxious.
"Move!" Ji Dong's shoulder suddenly shook. Yang Bingtian felt that his palms had gone numb, and he could no longer hold his shoulder. In the next moment, Ji Dong had already walked up to him. Yang Bingtian felt a great power coming through his body. He was a six-crown martial artist, and couldn't resist it at all. His entire body bumped against the door behind him.
"Ji Dong, I won't let you go." said Yang Bingtian in a deep voice.
Ji Dong paused briefly. In the next moment, he slowly raised his right hand and murmured, "If you don't let me drink, I will kill you."
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